


A Song of Spring

by cipher6



Category: J-Rock - Fandom, ONE OK ROCK
Genre: F/M, High School, Japanese
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-29
Updated: 2014-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-25 00:23:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/946465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cipher6/pseuds/cipher6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After three years abroad, Rin Hashimoto is back in Okutama.  This time, she's seventeen and about to enter her second year of senior high in Koizumi Academy.  Her happiness at seeing her old friends again is eclipsed only by her fear of running into her childhood love.  </p><p>Sayuri Abe is tired of being the perfect student and desperately wants to fire up her social life in her second year of high school.  When the most popular boy on campus, Toru Yamashita, asks her help with chemistry, she wonders if he's just the spark she needs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New girl, old school

**Prologue**

_The spring behind Koizumi Academy didn't have a name, but it did have a legend._

_According to the story (if you happen to believe old grandmothers' tales), if a pair of lovers spend the night on the bank of the spring, their love will last for all eternity._

_And if a star should fall, as stars are wont to do when there is a love that seeks the blessings of heaven, then the lovers' future child will find true love and angels will dance at their wedding._

_Many a happy couple attest to the truth of this.  They are mostly old married couples, of course, because young people these days no longer subscribe to myths of this kind.  It takes a special kind of love to let the one's heart open itself to hope, and welcome the magic of the little spring._

_Of course, this is just a legend._

***

Rin Hashimoto had walked all over the third floor looking for room 320, but she still couldn't find it. It was third period, and although normally students at Koizumi Academy had one classroom for all their classes for the duration of the term, she wasn't there under normal circumstaces.

Finally she gave up and decided to ask someone.

"Fourth floor," said a girl, with thinly veiled annoyance at having to be bothered on her way to class.

"But, it's 320, why would it be on the fourth --- " Rin started to say, but the girl had left.  The hallway was nearly empty because most of the students were in their rooms, and the one or two people out in the hallway didn't seem to be interested in helping her.

With no other options left, Rin spotted the nearest stairs and hurried to the fourth floor. Her phone rang as she was halfway up the stairs.  
  
 _Who on earth would be calling me at this time?_  The fact that the caller's number was a United States number barely had time to register before she answered. "Hello?"  
  
A pause. Then a deep, familiar voice said, "Hello, loser."  
  
"Idiot," she said. Trust her best friend to call her up at the most inconvenient time.  
  
"What are you doing? Are you in class?"

"Still trying to find it, actually.  This school has a weird room numbering system.  I'm surprised you took time off from that continuous orgy you call your life to give me a call."

"Well, you know how I occasionally like to give the other guys a chance to get a date, so I'm staying home tonight.   I'm nice guy like that.  Also, I figured you must be missing me so much by now you're crying into your ramen."

"Yeah, right." Normally, Rin just rolled her eyes whenever he started fake bragging, but this time she couldn't help smiling.  She did kind of miss him. 

She had been walking around a bit before she found room 320 at the end of a hallway, beside 415. The door was shut, and unlike the other rooms, there were no windows to the hall.

"Look, I gotta go. I'm late for third period," she said.

"I miss you. Hurry up and come home."

"I'll try. Bye. Try not to acquire any new STDs till I get there."  She could hear him roar in laughter before hanging up.

Rin had been dreading this class.  Unfortunately, all other elective classes were full, so she was stuck with this one.  She had to take an elective this term if she wanted to graduate high school on time.  And she desperately wanted to graduate on time.  The sooner she was done with high school, the sooner she could leave Tokyo and move back to L.A. for college.  She took a deep breath and pushed down on the doorknob and let herself in.   

“You’re late,” said the teacher, peering at her over her spectacles.  She was a tiny, middle-aged lady. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, her posture as stiff as a ballet teacher's.

Rin bowed low. “I'm sorry,  _sensei_. I got lost. Uh, I thought this room would be on the third floor ..”

The older woman suddenly smiled brightly.  “That’s all right.  You’re the transferee, yes? From --”

"Yes,  _sensei._ "  Rin didn't want the teacher letting on about her being from abroad, as she could already feel every pair of eyes in the room staring at her.  It was a large room, and instead of desks, each student sat in front of a musical instrument, or was holding one up.  Koizumi Academy was famous for its music program, and she felt slightly like a fraud among all these kids who were actual aspiring musicians.

"Well, we'd already assigned instruments for everyone.  Do you play any instrument?"

"Uhm. Not really."

"Well, which is it?" the teacher asked gently. "Can you play the piano?"

"No."

"How about the guitar? We can use another guitar."

"Uhm..."

The  _sensei_  took her answer as a yes.  "Mr. Irie, please give Ms.--"

"Hashimoto," Rin said. "But I'd really rather not--"

"-- Ms. Hashimoto a guitar please. You can take that beside Ms. Oshiro over there."

A boy took a guitar from one of the closets and stood behind an empty chair beside the guitar players. He looked at her expectantly.

Rin didn't move.  She didn't want the guitar. "Uh,  _sensei,_ could I --"

"Hurry, hurry! We have drills to go through," the  _sensei_  said.

Cursing under her breath, Rin walked quickly to her chair.  She took the guitar from Irie and mumbled a quick thanks.

The girl Oshiro ignored her completely.  Which was fine by Rin, as making new friends wasn’t high up on her list of priorities for this class.  Besides, upon closer inspection, she discovered her seatmate was sporting black nail polish, and had what looked like the edge of a dark green tattoo peeking out of her right sock.  Which in L.A. wasn't that strange, but for a Japanese schoolgirl usually meant anything from a rebellious streak, depression with suicidal tendencies, or worse, an Avril Lavigne obsession.

It was probably best to stay away.

***

Sayuri Abe coudn't believe what she was hearing.

"So, unless you promise to uphold the previously agreed upon terms," Akemi Kagome was saying, "we can't be friends anymore." 

"Are you serious," said Sayuri. 

Akemi sniffed. "We had a deal."

"Yeah," said Ryoko Maki, crossing her arms. "We all promised."

"For god's sake, we were twelve years old," said Sayuri. 

"The only reason you were top of our class last year was because we let you," said Akemi.

"That's right," said Ryoko.

"No, I was top of our class because I studied my ass off," said Sayuri. She was getting angry. So this was why she had gotten the cold treatment from them all summer. 

"Ryoko was supposed to be top of the class last term, not you," said Akemi. "You had your turn. Now it's ours."

"This is really stupid."

"I'm sorry you feel that way.  So I guess this means," said Akemi, taking a step closer to Sayuri, "that we're enemies now."

"Academically speaking,"  said Ryoko.

"What does that even mean?" said Sayuri.  "You're going to try to bludgeon me with your algebra textbook?"

"Don't be silly," said Akemi.

"I think the chemistry textbook is much bigger than --" 

"Shut up, Ryoko," Akemi snapped.

"You know what?" said Sayuri, picking up her school bag and her books.  It was study period, and she had thought they were meeting to go over the textbooks for that term. "That's fine. We're enemies, whatever.  I don't need this crap.  And I don't need either of you."  She walked out the door, cheeks flushed with anger.

And slammed, headfirst, into a boy.

Well, it turned out to be a boy.  At first she thought she'd run into a wall that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the hallway.  She lost her balance and would’ve fallen on her back if a pair of strong hands hadn’t grabbed her arms and steadied her.

It took a few seconds for Sayuri’s head to clear, and when she stopped seeing stars, she found herself staring at the concerned face of Toru Yamashita.

“Are you all right, Miss?”

“Uh … yes. Fine. I’m fine.”  She felt her cheeks grow warm.  He didn’t know her, but she knew him.  Everybody did. He was one of the most popular boys in school.  And he was holding her in the middle of the hallway of the school.  “Uhm …”

He must’ve realized what he was doing, and released her, slowly, as if to test that she wasn’t going to topple over after he let go.  He didn’t seem embarrassed at all, because he grinned.

Sayuri remembered once or twice thinking he’d be cuter if he were less skinny, and his hair was properly cut short and neat.  Now, looking at him up close, she wondered why she ever thought he was less than perfect.

“… Miss?”

“Huh?” It was only when she had to look up to meet his eyes that she realized she had been staring at the  bit of his chest that was exposed because the top two buttons of his shirt were undone.

“I said do you need help with your things?”

_My things?_ she thought.  Then she remembered her bag and her books …

While she bent down and scurried around picking up the notebooks and pens that had flown out of her bag, Sayuri wondered if it was even possible for her to blush even more than she already had. Toru’s friends, who were there to witness the whole thing, were staring at her, snickering, while she tried to pick up the pieces of her dignity.   _Where was that chemistry book?_ She knew she had been carrying it earlier.

She stood up and found herself face to face with Toru again.  He was holding up the chemistry textbook, and two of her CDs.

“This must be yours. I think the book nearly hit Tomoya on his head.”  He gestured toward a boy on his left.

She muttered an incoherent “Thank you” and took the items from him.  

“You like guns?” he asked.

“Guns?”

She looked down at the CDs he just handed back to her.  They were My Chemical Romance’s Number One and Number Three singles.

“Oh, no, they’re not about guns!” she said.  _Oh my god, did I just yell that?_  “It’s just music. American,” she added, hoping she managed to sound less manic.

“You like—“ Toru started to say.

“Hey, Yamashita-kun, be careful.  They say nerdiness is contagious.”

It was Toru’s friend Tomoya.  Everyone howled in laughter. 

Sayura quickly stuffed the CDs into her bag, and, trying not to look at Toru, walked past him as fast as she could. 

She thought she was used to people teasing her about being a nerd.   When students called her names or pretended like she wasn’t there, it used to be something she could ignore. She didn’t socialize, and she only hung out to study with Akemi and Ryoko, her only friends. Now she had no friends, and she had been ridiculed in front of Toru Yamashita.

It wasn’t shaping up to be a great day.  Sayuri was grateful, however, that it wasn’t until she got to the empty second floor bathroom that her sobs started in earnest. 

 


	2. Making friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yes. We’re going to form a band. I’ll play lead guitar, you’ll be bass.” Tamiko was practically ignoring her food. Her eyes lit up and her arms were gesturing wildly. “I’m also pretty good with writing music. But I need someone who speaks good English who can help me with the lyrics. I want,” Tamiko said, her eyes serious, “a band that will perform songs written partly in Japanese and partly in English.”
> 
> “Why?” Rin asked, taking a bite of her fettuccini. She had ordered the cafeteria pasta, and it was surprisingly good. She was actually enjoying her lunch, and figured she might as well let the girl rant on about her crazy band idea.
> 
> “Because it’s cool.”
> 
> “How is that cool?”
> 
> Tamiko rolled her eyes. “It just is! Trust me.” She held out her hand. “You in?”

"Hey newbie."

It took Rin a moment to realize someone was speaking to her.  She stopped and looked behind her to see the Oshiro girl trying to catch up.

“Where’d you get your American accent?” Oshiro asked. 

Rin continued walking.  Third period was over and Rin had just left the music room and was on her way back to homeroom for her next class.  Oshiro fell in step. “You speak English?” she asked. 

Now Rin wished her music class teacher hadn’t made her read out the English lyrics of the piece they’d been studying.  She didn’t reply.

“Okay, you don’t want to talk about it, then,” the other girl said. “That’s cool. You know your guitar skills aren’t bad.”

Silence.

Oshiro pressed on. “I have a proposal for you.“

“Look, I’m just trying to get to class,” Rin said.  After she’d spoken, she realized she must have sounded rude.  Three years in L.A. made her acquire a certain degree of bluntness, and her parents warned her she would have to remember to curb it if she were to assimilate back into Japan society.  But it didn’t seem to bother Oshiro.

“Which one?”

She hesitated for a second, then said, “2-B.”

“You got someone to eat lunch with?”

Rin hadn’t thought about that.  She shrugged.

“I’ll pick you up after fourth period.”  Without waiting for a reply, Oshiro turned and left.

***

Sayuri had been dreading lunch since study period.  

She spotted Akemi and Ryoko sitting together at their usual lunch table, pointedly trying to ignore her.  She found an vacant spot on the other side of the cafeteria and settled in.  She reminded herself there were worse things than having to eat lunch alone.

“Hey, Abe-san, did you lose your two nerdlings?”

It was Chiyo Akiyama, resident queen bee and pain in Sayuri’s ass since junior high.  She and her minions were sitting at a table behind Sayuri’s. 

Usually, Chiyo would pick on Sayuri, Akemi and Ryoko collectively.  That was the thing about always getting the highest scores in class —  it was like you had a huge bullseye for bullies on your forehead. 

Only this time, Sayuri was alone.  She opened her lunch box and tried to ignore Chiyo.

“I think I saw Akemi and Ryoko back there,” said Emi Ueda. “Trouble in nerd paradise?”

Sayuri could hear the other girls snicker.  She refused to look at them.  If they couldn’t get a rise out of her, maybe at some point they’d get tired and leave her alone.  “ _Itadakimasu_ ,” she whispered, then started on her lunch.  She’d gotten a couple of bites of her tuna when someone picked up her juice box.  She looked up to see Chiyo taking a sip of her juice.  Chiyo made a face.

“Ough. That’s terrible,” she said, and threw the box toward the trash bin a couple of meters away.  She missed, and the box bounced off the wall before spilling on the floor.  Chiyo flashed Sayuri a mocking smile, and returned to her table.

 _Bitch._ Sayuri could feel the word rising in her throat.  She had to remind herself she didn’t want a fight. She had her sights on Kyodai, and it wouldn’t do to get into any trouble in school.  That kind of thing went on one’s permanent record.

Of course, Chiyo was probably counting on that.

Sayuri swallowed hard, trying to keep her anger in check.  If she got up to get another drink, Chiyo would probably mess up the rest of her meal.

Almost out of spite, she bit into a rice ball.

“Here, I got you another drink.”

She looked up, her mouth still full of rice.  Toru placed a juice box and a bottle of mineral water on her table.

“I wasn’t sure what you wanted so I got you a water too, just in case,” he said, sitting down beside her.

 _He’s so tall_ , Sayuri thought, staring up at him. 

Toru looked amused. “I’m sorry, was I disturbing you?” he said.

“Oh no,” was what she meant to say.  Instead all she could manage was: “Uhmphr.” 

_Oh god, I have food in my mouth._

Sayuri turned away and tried to swallow as fast as she could without choking.  When she turned back to face him, Toru had opened the bottled water and was holding it up to her face.

“Uh.  Thank you,” she said, taking the bottle.  She took a sip, conscious of his eyes on her. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she really, really needed some water right now.

“So, I wanted to ask you something,” he said.

 “Okay.” 

“I heard you’re really good at Chemistry.  Well, they say you’re good at everything.”

“Oh. You should see my macrame.”

“I need some help with it.”

“Okay.  But macrame is really hard.”

Toru laughed.  “I’ll work hard,” he said, “if you promise to be patient with me.”

“Are you sure you want me to, uh, teach you?”

“Tsukino _sensei_ said you did really well in his class last term.”

“Oh.  _Sensei_ taught a really great class.”  Sayuri was quiet for a while. “Uhm, if I do this, will you do something for me?”

“Sure,”  Toru said.  He leaned a little closer to her. Up close, his eyelashes looked like soft, long, dark petals.

She lowered her eyes, afraid she had been staring too hard.  Her gaze fell on his mouth.  She wondered what it would be like if she reached up and traced his cupid’s bow with her finger.  

_What was I going to say? Oh, right._

“Well,” she said, “you’re friends with Eiji Kato, aren’t you?”

He nodded.  She was quiet for a while. “Did you want me to ask him out for you or something?” he asked, grinning.

“What? No! Uh, he’s president of the theater club.” Sayuri took a deep breath. She could do this, she told herself. “I was hoping you’d ask him to consider letting me be a member. I mean, I did pass the auditions last year and everything.  I just, well, didn’t join last term.  And they don’t accept new members in the middle of the school year.”  Sayuri couldn’t believe how boldly she was asking a  near-stranger such a favor.  Toru was just so _nice_.  It seemed easy.

“Sure, I can do that.” A pause. “Are you sure you don’t want to date him?” Toru said.  

“No. No.” She gave him a small smile. “He’s not my type,” she added, almost in a whisper. The way he looked at her was making her blush in parts of her face she didn’t know _could_ blush. 

“What is your type, then?”

The question took her off guard. 

 _You_ , she thought. 

“I … don’t know.”

“No boyfriend?”

“No.” 

“Good.”

 _Huh?_ She looked up at him, puzzled.

“I don’t want anyone to get jealous when we start spending so much time together,” Toru said.  He stood up.  “I have to get going. My friends and I are having lunch out back. ” He gave her a little bow. “I’ll see you on Wednesday? Lunch period? It’s much more fun to eat meals with friends, I think.”

“Okay.”  She wasn’t sure if he was saying she was going to have fun with just anybody, or with him in particular.

“You should get out more,” he said. “People are nice if you got to know them.” 

Sayuri was a little dazed as he left.  She wondered if she was even hungry anymore.   

Then she saw Chiyo, Emi and their friends staring at her, their mouths open.  Some of the other students at nearby tables were whispering to one another.

Smugly, she resumed her lunch.

***

“A band?”

“Yup,” said Tamiko Oshiro.  “I need someone who can play guitar and write English lyrics.”

Rin looked at her, and didn’t say anything.

“I’m pretty good with the guitar,” Tamiko said. “We could be awesome.”

“We.”

“Yes. We’re going to form a band. I’ll play lead guitar, you’ll be bass.” Tamiko was practically ignoring her food.  Her eyes lit up and her arms were gesturing wildly. “I’m also pretty good with writing music.  But I need someone who speaks good English who can help me with the lyrics.  I want,” Tamiko said, her eyes serious, “a band that will perform songs written partly in Japanese and partly in English.”

“Why?” Rin asked, taking a bite of her fettuccini. She had ordered the cafeteria pasta, and it was surprisingly good. She was actually enjoying her lunch, and figured she might as well let the girl rant on about her crazy band idea.

“Because it’s cool.”

“How is that cool?”

Tamiko rolled her eyes. “It just is! Trust me.” She held out her hand. “You in?”

Rin looked at the other girl’s hand. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I … don’t play.”

“Yes you do.”

“That’s just something I have to do for class.”  Rin took another bite of fettucini. “I hate guitar.”

Tomiko snorted. “Why?” she asked, like she was expecting a really stupid answer.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

***

_He had that look on his face. He always looked like that whenever he watched her play._

_Rin nodded her head to the rhythm of her strumming. She hummed a little, feeling the music vibrate through her._

_She felt alive._

_“You play better than me now,” he said when she finished._

_“Liar.” She positioned rested the guitar vertically and rested it on her lap, her left arm hugging it._

_“You know me better than that.”_

_“Your turn.”  This was the part she liked the most._

_He had his own guitar lying on his lap, but he seemed to have forgotten it. “I’d rather listen to you play another song,” he said._

_“That’s not fair. I like watching you play, too.”  Rin tilted her head in a gesture he recognized as one where she meant “please”._

_Obligingly, he lifted his guitar off the floor and positioned it on his lap.  His fingers began working the strings, slowly, almost reluctantly. She almost couldn’t hear anything at first, then …_

_It was a song she’d never heard before.  It was a little more up tempo than the music he usually played. And although he would normally tease her with his eyes while playing, this time he kept his eyes lowered and only looked up at her once.  He didn’t sing, but she could hear him, somehow.  It was his voice.  She recognized it from the song.  Confident and strong, and full of optimism.  And longing._

_It was a while after he finished that he finally looked up._

_Rin knew he could probably see the tears in her eyes, but she didn’t care._

_“Was that you?” she asked._

_“Did you like it?”_

_She nodded. “What do you call it?”_

_“I … don’t know,” he said. “All I know is I wrote it for you.”_

_“Well… aren’t you going to give it any lyrics? How are people going to know you’re crazy about me if my song doesn’t have any words?”_

_“You are so bossy.”_

_“Well, if you don’t like —“_

_He kissed her._

_Rin felt dizzy, unable to process the feel of his lips on hers. In all her fourteen years, she thought she’d experienced what it was like to be happy, but this feeling was more overwhelming than anything she’d ever known.  His mouth was oh so soft, yet his lips demanded something from her. She wasn’t sure what it was, but at that moment, she knew she wanted to give it to him._

_Her guitar was still between them, a shield against what she both feared and wanted.  He kept his hands away, but she felt her legs betray her, moving until they touched his legs, her ankles finding his, their knees rubbing against one another._

_“Rin-chan,” Toru whispered breathlessly against her lips._

_And just like that, the guitar was gone._


	3. Audition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are you warm enough?”
> 
> She opened her eyes and smiled at him. “Yes,” she said. “You realize what we’re doing, right?”
> 
> He snuggled closer, until his forehead found her temple. “Do you believe?”
> 
> “I don’t know.”
> 
> “Me neither. But my grandmother does.” He traced a finger over her hand wistfully. “She’ll miss you too, you know.”
> 
> “Well, if this works, I …” She didn’t know what to say next. She didn’t even believe in ghosts. Maybe there was magic in the spring. Maybe it was enough to let them stay together. 
> 
> Maybe all they had was this night.

Community service, they called it.  _More like charity for losers_ , Tamiko thought. It was punishment for getting caught cutting class twice. One more offense and she'd have to drag her parents down to the school headmistress's office to discuss her truancy.

Basically she was on theater club duty. The club was made up of what had to be the biggest losers in the school, which is why they had problems getting students to sign up. It would've died a natural death if the headmistress wasn't such a drama-obsessed freak who fancied herself a patron of the arts. Which is why students who got into trouble got assigned to assist the theater club instead of cleaning duty or detention, if they had any useful theater-related skills.

Unfortunately for Tamiko, the headmistress knew she played the piano. 

It wasn't something Tamiko bragged about. She wasn't a huge fan of the instrument, it was just something her parents made her take up when she was five. The guitar -- which she had discovered when she was 10 -- was her preferred musical weapon of choice. However, the headmistress found out about her having played the piano somehow and now Tamiko had to spend third period playing for the misguided souls auditioning for the theater club. 

Eiji Kato saw her as soon as she entered the auditorium. "Oshi-san, thank you so much for coming," he said. He actually bowed to emphasize his gratitude. 

"Yeah, well, I didn't really have a choice in the matter, did I." She looked around but didn't see any other students. "Where are the people auditioning?"

"Technically, we're not holding auditions yet. As you know, auditions for the theater club is at the beginning of the school year, during spring. It is a tradition--"

"Oh my god, nobody cares, Kato. Just tell me what the hell I'm supposed to be doing for you losers today."

Eiji turned red, but tried to face her irritation with a smile. "Right. We have only one girl auditioning today. A special dispensation as a favor to a friend. You know Toru Yamashita, yes?"

"No," said Tamiko, although she did know him. She just generally preferred to pretend not to know anybody so she had an excuse to not speak to people. Socializing was tedious and boring. "That's a strange name for a girl."

"Oh no! Although we would, of course be honored to have Yam ashi-san join our humble club--" He stopped short and turned red at Tamiko's glare. "Apologies. Her name is --"

"Who cares, let's just do this." Tamiko started walking toward the stage. 

"Oh, Oshi-san, this is the sheet music," Eiji said, following her and trying to hand her a booklet. "It's called 'Wonderful Guy' from Souz ... Souz... "

"South Pacific, yes I know it, " Oshiro said, still walking, then she paused in her stride when she realized what she just admitted to. She mentally kicked herself but climbed the steps to the stage as nonchalantly as she could. 

She sat on the piano seat, and cleared her throat. Eiji hurriedly ran up the steps of the stage and placed the music booklet on the sheet stand, opened at the right song.

“This is Abe Sayuri-san. She’ll be auditioning for us today,” he said, gesturing towards the girl who was going up the stage from the left. The girl bowed nervously in greeting, and Eiji bowed back. 

Tamiko ignored her.  “Ready?” she asked, getting ready to play.

“Yes.” Sayuri’s voice was a little shaky. 

Oshiro’s fingers lightly pressed on the first staccato notes of the song’s intro, before Sayuri began to sing.

                “I expect everyone of my crowd to make fun

                of my proud protestations of faith in romance.” *****

Oshiro’s hands nearly froze on the piano keys. She’d taken it for granted that the girl would be singing a Japanese version of the song. You had to have pretty good enunciation skills to sing it in the original English. The girl Sayuri easily breezed through the first verse, her words coming out loud and clear.

                “And they'll say I'm naïve as a babe to believe

                Every fable I hear from a person in pants.”

The song was a girl’s unashamed declaration of love. It was joyful, it was silly, it was hopeful. Sayuri was breathless and smiling as she sang line after line.

                “Fearlessly I'll face them and argue their doubts away,

                Loudly I'll sing about flowers in spring,

                Flatly I'll stand on my little flat feet and say

                Love is a grand and a beautiful thing!”

 

_“It’s not fair.”_

_Toru was silent, holding Rin’s hand. They sat on a bench under their favorite tree behind the library building._

_“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” she said._

_“I wish you had,” he said._

_“I think I was hoping for a miracle. That my dad’s plans would change. I mean, it’s not like there was anything either of us could’ve done.”_

_“We could’ve run away.”_

 

                “I’m not ashamed to reveal

                The world famous feelin' I feel.”

 

_“I love you.”_

_Rin wanted to tell him how she felt, but she was afraid she’d start crying. “Will you write songs for me after I’m gone?” she asked him._

_“I’ll sing them to you over Skype.” He paused. “Do they have Skype in California?”_

_She punched him in the arm. He was so stupid sometimes._

 

                “I’m as corny as Kansas in August

                I’m as normal as blueberry pie

                No more a smart little girl with no heart

                I have found me a wonderful guy”

 

_Her head rested on his shoulder. She always felt safe beside him. He was so tall, it was like being enveloped her in a warm circle of everything she loved. It was her own little universe where there was just him and her._

_“Let’s not go home tonight,” he whispered._

_“It’s cold.”_

_“It’s warm by the spring.”_

 

                “I am in a conventional dither,

                With a conventional star in my eye.

                And you will note there's a lump in my throat

                When I speak of that wonderful guy!”

 

_Rin closed her eyes and wished upon all the stars above her. She wished she didn’t have to leave Okutama._ _She wished she weren't fourteen years old and unable to do anything when her family wanted to drag her away to another country._ _She wished she could stay with the boy who sang her songs and told her he loved her._

_Toru had taken off his uniform blazer, and spread it on her like a blanket. They lay together on the grass, side by side. “Are you warm enough?”_

_She opened her eyes and smiled at him. “Yes,” she said. “You realize what we’re doing, right?”_

_He snuggled closer, until his forehead found her temple. “Do you believe?”_

_“I don’t know.”_

_“Me neither. But my grandmother does.” He traced a finger over her hand wistfully. “She’ll miss you too, you know.”_

_“Well, if this works, I …” She didn’t know what to say next. She didn’t even believe in ghosts. Maybe there was magic in the spring. Maybe it was enough to let them stay together._

_Maybe all they had was this night._

 

 _“_ I’m as trite and as gay as a daisy in May,

                A cliché comin' true!

                I'm bromidic and bright

                As a moon-happy night

                Pourin' light on the dew!”

 

_The sunlight felt gentle on Rin’s face. She smelled the damp grass before she opened her eyes to the morning. She sat up slowly, taking in her surroundings. The mist surrounding the spring had almost entirely lifted, and an occasional bird flew across the cloudless sky._

 

                “If you'll excuse an expression I use,

                I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love

                I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love …”

 

_His blazer was on her lap, and she stared at it for a good long time, through the tears she didn’t realize she was crying until she felt them on her cheeks._

_He was gone._

 

“I’m in love with a wonderful guy!” Sayuri belted out the last line triumphantly.  In the front seat, Eiji was nodding approvingly while writing down notes on his clipboard.

Oshiro was almost in a good mood. She smiled at Eiji when he thanked her for her time, and the boy was so startled he nearly dropped his clipboard.

“Hey, Abe-san,” she called out as Sayuri was about to leave. “Do you have a minute?”

 

_* "A Wonderful Guy"  - music by_ _Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II_


End file.
